


Interactions

by lex_evetta



Series: Destined to End up in This Place [5]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Gets a Hug, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Dorky Flirting, Dummy is a Sweetheart, Everyone is super bisexual okay, Explicit Language, Fluff, Getting to Know Each Other, I can already tell, I'm going to have too many damn tags, Insecure Bucky Barnes, Insecure Tony Stark, Insomnia, JARVIS is Snarky, M/M, Nightmares, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Gets a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs Sleep, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, War Veteran Bucky Barnes, War Veteran Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-07-28 18:37:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7652323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lex_evetta/pseuds/lex_evetta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony and Bucky are somewhat new to relationships. Which isn't to say they lack experience in them. </p><p>Rather, neither of them have had much cause for venturing back out into the dating world. That is, until they came across each other.</p><p>This is them forging their path.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

A litany of peculiar collisions and metal grinding could be heard ringing throughout the research facilities claimed by Tony Stark as his own.

This in and of itself wasn’t all that note-worthy. The fascination that came along with such a spectacle was instead rooted in the sight of a Tony Stark who was apparently not wholly within his own element. The man was hardly ever harried in a way that couldn’t be interpreted as peculiarly cool and contained, but today was different.

Today, Tony was almost frenetic as he scrambled around in what appeared to be a sudden cleaning spree.

Raised eyebrows and furtive glances were all but the new uniform of the Stark Industries employees.

* * *

Tony almost asked JARVIS to enable the blackout protocol, but was thankful he hadn’t given how thoroughly entertained he was by the befuddled faces of his employees as they tried to catch a glimpse of whatever he was doing.

Normally, the hall outside the workshop would be relatively abandoned. Only those with the proper clearance to actually enter ever bothered coming that way. Everyone else knew to seek Tony in his office.

Tony shimmied under one of his workbenches, only to be distracted by Dummy’s concerned beeping.

The bot’s arm tried in vain to shift down and out towards Tony who was firmly squished between benches as he gathered the assorted detritus that had accumulated there.

“I’m okay, buddy,” Tony soothed as he ducked his head out to meet the bot’s frantically swiveling camera. He gave a little wave only to be given a plaintive beep in response.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Tony crawled out, findings grasped tightly to his already well-stained shirt.

Dummy reared back before reaching to relieve Tony of his assorted pieces of metal and tools. Only a portion of it ended up in the bot’s hand, the rest knocked out of Tony’s grasp entirely.

Tony sighed as he stroked Dummy’s arm. “Thanks, kiddo.” The bot followed Tony to one of the large bins he’d wheeled into the workshop.

As Dummy busied himself with pushing around a stray basketball, Tony took in his surroundings. The benches were as clear as he could get them, schematics and tools tucked away neatly. Any prototypes or larger creations he’d been working on were shelved or stored in the back.

He could hardly recall a time in which his workspace was truly spotless, but he wanted to tidy things up a bit nonetheless. 

“What do you think, Jar?” Tony asked as he crossed his arms, lips pursed in contemplation.

“I find your efforts admirable, sir,” JARVIS provided haughtily. Tony thought he could hear a smirk somewhere in there.

Tony scoffed as he worked at a scuff mark with his shoe. “I’d like to see you do any better.” He shot back with an eye roll. Dummy made a sound of approval.

“I merely mean to say that, if memory serves, Master Barnes did serve in the military. As such, his understanding of cleanliness may differ from yours somewhat, sir.”

“You act as if I damn you to living in a pigsty, which is just hurtful and wholly inaccurate. I don’t know where you learned to be so ungrateful.” Tony shook his head in mock dismay.

“I will endeavor to expound on my errors at a more appropriate time given that I feel compelled to inform you that we have a visitor,” Jarvis chimed in.

Tony stood stock still before bounding over the (relatively neat) pile of gears he’d accumulated in his cleaning rampage. 

“Tell him I’ll be right with him, Jar.” Tony tried to keep his voice level as he felt his false sense of calm wash away.

“Of course, sir.” 

Once he reached the closet in the far corner of the workshop, he began rifling through it, ultimately settling on a fresh shirt and jeans. He pulled them on haphazardly, only taking the time to make himself more presentable when remembered that he’d installed a mirror in the workshop as well.

He buried both hands in his hair in an attempt to force it to take on some form outside of bedraggled mayhem. He quickly settled for simply keeping it out of his face given that the ends curled in seemingly all directions with no intention of giving in to his own hurried coaxing.

Tony finally gave into the pervasive urge to hop up and down a few times as a means of expelling any excess energy that could result in wildly unattractive jitters on his part.

Tony used the time it took to personally open the door to regain some of the collectedness he’d woken up with that morning.

At the door, Tony was greeted with a mop of shiny hair. He only barely noticed that Jarvis had apparently blacked out the windows and walls of his own accord. Bucky’s back was to the door, neck craning in several directions as he tried to catch glimpses of the buzzing scientists, technicians, and associates around him.

Tony found himself staring at the other man as he took in a large piece of machinery being hauled through a nearby corridor, mouth gaping a bit. This guy was absurdly cute.

Tony willed himself out of whatever trance he’d fallen into.

“James?” He touched the other man’s shoulder, causing him to startle as he whirled around to face Tony. Tony took note of the brightness in Bucky’s eyes as he hastily removed his hand.

Tony offered a welcoming wave accompanied by a smile that felt awkward, but was well-received nonetheless.

Bucky’s smile was warm, if not a bit sheepish. “Hey,” He murmured before leaning in and giving Tony a kiss on the cheek. He was already visibly more relaxed.

Tony squeezed his hip with one hand before wrapping his arm around Bucky’s waist. Bucky leaned in and Tony attempted to breathe him in covertly. Bucky always smelled of mahogany and cinnamon with just a tinge of motor oil.

“Didn’t mean to be a creep just now,” Tony replied airily as he ushered Bucky inside. He was only referencing the shoulder thing, but figured it would cover all the bases if Bucky noticed his weird sniffing. 

A low beep sounded in opposition, but the culprit was nowhere to be found. Tony’s eyes narrowed at that, but Bucky didn’t seem to notice as he chuckled lightly.

“Nah. I just got a little lost in my head,” Bucky replied with an eye roll before continuing. “This is some tower you got here.” He whistled his appreciation, wriggling a little in Tony’s grasp as he took in the workshop around them.

Tony beamed at him. “This old thing?” His voice was dubious, but his eyes surely gave him away.

Truth be told, Tony was proud of this building. He’d handpicked everything according to both his comfort as well as all the research he could find on productivity and creativity in the workplace.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Bucky shook his head, eyes wide.

Tony quirked an eyebrow at him.

“I just heard someone talking about taking some big ass slide instead of the elevator.” Bucky’s eyes were bright as they tried to make contact with Tony’s. “A slide,” Bucky reiterated in a dramatically hushed tone.

Tony shrugged. “That’s just a project I have going. Little experiment.”

“Yeah, okay.” Bucky acceded, brow crinkling adorably. “But maybe, just maybe, you’re a big softie who wants to make work as fun as possible for his employees?” 

Tony automatically made a sound of indignation. “Absolutely not. I’m a hard ass who is very particular and impossible to work with. Or haven’t you heard?”

Bucky seemed to consider this before eventually shaking his head. “I’m just not seeing it.”

Tony hip checked him before dragging him onto the sofa. “Well, if there is any truth to your outlandish allegations, you won’t hear it from me.”

“I guess I’ll just have to investigate it myself,” Bucky said before pulling Tony into a kiss. Bucky buried his flesh hand in Tony’s hair, stroking gently as he pulled him closer to his chest. 

Tony sighed into it as he tasted Bucky, the cinnamon all at once more powerful. Bucky obliged, lips giving in to Tony as he leaned in and licked inside.

Tony moved one leg to bracket Bucky just as he felt something prodding at his back. It felt metallic, but couldn’t have been Bucky’ hand given that he only had the two.

He got his answer when Bucky jumped, his grip on Tony tightening as he took in something somewhere behind Tony’s head.

Tony studied Bucky’s look of shock mixed with something else before turning to frown at Dummy. 

Dummy responded by pushing at Tony with his hand, dislodging him from Bucky’s hold.

Tony sighed as he crossed his arms at the bot before turning to Bucky. “James, I’d like you to meet Dummy. Dummy, as I am absolutely positive I told you already, this is James.”

“Hi there.” Bucky was only a little breathless from the kiss, but his face was definitely flushed from the exertion.

Dummy let out an angry stream of beeps and buzzes, prompting Bucky to raise his hands in the universally placating, mean-no-harm gesture.

Dummy reared back before moving closer, camera focusing in on Bucky’s left arm. 

“Dummy, don’t-” Tony started with an internal wince.

Bucky held a cautious hand out towards the bot’s arm. Seeing that the bot wasn’t cowering or attacking, Bucky touched the bot’s arm.

At the sound of Dummy’s happy, more drawn out beeping, Bucky grinned as he started to stroke the metal arm with his own.

“Aren’t you something?” Bucky gushed as he took the bot’s form in better. “This- he, she is amazing, Tony,” He added as Dummy crowded into his space even more.

Tony’s brow crinkled. “He,” He responded dazedly.

Suddenly, Dummy started pulling on Bucky, tugging him up from his seated position. Bucky looked at Tony in concern. “I- I’m not hurting him, am I?”

Tony shook his head, eyes traveling from Bucky to Dummy in fascination. “Nuh uh. Dummy’s pretty strong. Probably too strong, if I’m being honest. He just wants to play with you.”

“He can play?” Bucky’s eyes widened even more. “What else can he do?”

“Well, Dummy is an AI so he learns, observes, helps out in general. I built him with the intentions of having an extra helping hand, but he’s always been too ornery for that alone.”

JARVIS spoke up. “If I may, sir. I believe dear Dummy’s unruliness is a derivative of his creator.” The AI’s voice was steeped in amusement, causing Bucky to let out a startled laugh.

“That sounds about right to me.” Bucky agreed, just barely dodging Tony’s indignant swatting.

“That would be JARVIS. He’s another AI who doesn’t listen to me,” Tony huffed out a long-suffering sigh before continuing, “How dare you all try to team up on me.”

Bucky snickered, dutifully being led away from the sofa by Dummy’s persistent grasp. “Oh, don’t be like that.” He spared a glance back at Tony. “JARVIS made sure to introduce himself as soon as I stepped on SI property. He’s pretty awesome, too,” He called over his shoulder, trudging along with Dummy.

Tony shook his head mournfully at him. “And this is how I lose out to my creations.”

Dummy nudged a basketball at Bucky’s feet, arm lifting expectantly as Bucky split his attention between the ball and the bot.

Bucky tossed the basketball, eyes brightening even more as Dummy jerked back to catch it before returning it almost flawlessly.

“Are you any good at dribbling?” Tony inquired as he sidled up to the newly formed duo.

Bucky shrugged before dribbling a little, feigning to the right, and leaping at the hoop installed along the wall.

Dummy spun around in a full circle, practically screeching before diving towards the ball, dribbling it, and throwing it over Bucky’s head only to catch it himself.

“Play nice with James,” Tony softly chastised the bot. Bucky glanced at him, a soft look in his eyes as Tony cleared his throat before pointing and nodding somewhere behind him. “I’ll just be over there. Somewhere.”

Bucky had just opened his mouth to respond when Dummy made yet another impressive play.

Bucky whistled lowly. “You’re gonna have to show me how to do that move sometime, Dummy.”

The bot seemed to take on a haughtier air at the comment, pleased sounds emitting from him.

Tony rolled his at them.

* * *

“Well Dee, I gotta say I’m pretty beat,” Bucky announced a while later as he sank down beside Tony. Their shoulders brushed before Bucky seemed to deflate a little as he rested his head lightly against Tony’s shoulder.

Dummy answered by acing yet another free throw from an absurdly long distance.

Tony scoffed. “Yeah, well that’s what you get for ditching me, Buckaroo.”

Tony had settled in on a nearby workbench with his tablet, looking up every once in a while with a fond look for Bucky and Dummy alike.

Bucky brought his head back up. “I’m officially all yours.”

Tony looked at the other man appraisingly. “I think I like the sound of that.” 

Bucky grinned before jumping back up, tugging a little on Tony’s arm so he’d follow. “What the hell is this and can it explode stuff?” Bucky asked 

“You bet your ass it can,” Tony answered as he saw Bucky had stopped in front of a glowing projection of a gauntlet with what appeared to be flames emitting from it. 

“It shoots fire?” Bucky looked both horrified and mystified.

“Jar, can you send this one down for me?” Tony asked excitedly.

“Certainly, sir.” JARVIS sounded resigned to his fate. “I suppose you’d like your more discreet protocols enacted?” He suggested, undoubtedly already starting to pull the programs up.

Tony pulled Bucky towards a section of the wall that seemed to be a lot less solid than it should be. 

“So, you’re seeing this too, right?” Bucky’s eyes were wider he tried to take in just what was happening.

Tony shrugged, a wicked glint in his eyes as he squeezed Bucky’s metal hand in his. “Experimental elements I’ve been playing with. It’s really like a fancy elevator for my stuff. Dummy also loves adores it.” 

Just then, the section was opening up more fully to reveal the actual gauntlet. Dummy’s excited form seemed to materialize as soon as the contraption appeared, his camera waving around as he tried to take all of the details in.

Tony quickly produced two blowtorch masks just as Dummy did the same with an oversized fire extinguisher. With one look of pointed disapproval from Tony, Dummy hesitantly lowered his extinguisher.

Bucky hummed in commiseration before he too was enthralled with the gauntlet before them. He wasted no time in strapping his mask on before hurriedly reaching for the gauntlet with his metal arm.

Tony snatched it up with a tsk. “Alright sugarplum. Rule number one is let me deal with the potentially dangerous materials in here.”

Bucky watched in rapt fascination as Tony gracefully slid the gauntlet over his arm. However, the edge in the other man’s voice gave him pause. “I- Sorry. I really should know better. I do! It’s just-” His hands flailed a bit as if he could find the proper words in the vacant space around him.

“You’re an ex-military hotshot used to diving into dangerous situations headfirst?” Tony supplied airily.

Bucky rolled his eyes at that. “It’s more like I’ve always had a thing for sci-fi shit and this is incredible. The design alone is top-notch.”

Tony tried to keep his preening to a minimum before he shifted his arm just so and Bucky found himself flooded with a piercingly deep blue coming from within the gauntlet’s core.

“We haven’t even gotten to the best part yet,” Tony said as he pecked the corner of Bucky’s mouth before flipped the other man’s mask down.

* * *

Tony winked as a whirring sound emitted from his gauntlet and Bucky found himself grateful for the mask.

Granted, his gratefulness had nothing to do with safety precautions and everything to do with how rapidly his face was heating up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See the end notes for any warnings pertaining to this chapter!

Tony let out a loud gasp as he found himself seemingly lacking proper access to oxygen. He shivered when he opened his eyes, calming down some upon taking in the familiarity of his dimly-lit room.

The bed beneath him was soft.

His pillows were exactly how he liked them.

The sheets directly beneath his bare form were comfortably heated by his own body while the expanses of fabric at either side of him were refreshingly cool to the touch.

JARVIS had taken it upon himself to shed a tolerable amount of light across the room.

None of this did anything to dispel the hollow ache permeating throughout Tony’s chest. It was as if there wasn’t enough room for all of his organs to function properly. As if something was pushed up against his lungs, pressing everything into his less-than-stellar ribs.

Intuitively, Tony was very much aware of the fact that nothing had actually changed since he fell asleep. Despite never having programmed him to do so, Tony was fully aware of the fact that JARVIS liked to continuously monitor Tony, tracking any changes in his conditions and making what the AI deemed were necessary calls to safeguard his creator’s health and condition. 

Tony lowered a hand to his stomach and focused on finding a less painful way to breathe.

While this did help, it did not stop his slightly shaky hands from blindly groping the nightstand for his phone.

Before he could talk himself out of it, Tony, eyes tightly shut, had dialed, finding that he had no real compulsion to hastily hang up and try to pretend this never happened.

Tony faintly wondered whether that would qualify as character growth of some sort, before hearing that the ringing had apparently stopped.

“Hello?” Bucky’s groggy, sleep-worn voice gave Tony pause. He mentally kicked himself for even entertaining the thought that this was a good idea. In no universe was it acceptable to call someone at two in the morning. 

An uncomfortable heat washed over Tony’s face as he checked a projection JARVIS helpfully threw up for him. It was even later (earlier?) than he thought.

“I’m sorry,” Tony blurted out with a grimace. He chewed on his bottom lip, twisting around to jam one arm up under his pillow, taking another and curling around it.

“What for?” Bucky’s voice was more alert and Tony thought he could hear him stifle a yawn. Tony, of all people, knew the importance of sleep and yet here he was. It wasn’t enough to disrupt his own circadian rhythm, but now he apparently needed to go bother James’s as well.

And he was clearly too nice to tell Tony to just kindly fuck off.

“For waking you up. I shouldn’t have, but I’m impulsive.” Tony rolled his eyes, forcing himself to sink deeper into his nest of pillows. He shifted a bit, trying to find that perfect position so as to either gain optimal comfort or simply allow the earth to swallow him whole. Whichever occurred first was good by him. “I’ll let you sleep now.”

“Tony!” Bucky snapped, voice gaining in volume. 

Tony winced before hearing Bucky emit a low sigh. “Don’t hang up,” Bucky murmured, voice still rough, but also unmistakably silken.

“But-” Tony started, ready to state his case and end this ridiculous conversation right there.

“But nothin’. Somethin’s up- I can hear it in your voice, babe.” That last word made Tony draw back some. That was a first.

Tony found himself nodding. “I- alright, yeah. I had a reason.”

“Okay,” Bucky said without even a hint of a question in his tone or cadence.

“It’s stupid, but I just wanted to hear your voice,” Tony admitted quietly, crossing his arms over his chest as he glanced towards the far window in his bedroom.

“That doesn’t sound all that stupid to me,” Bucky countered. “It’s sweet,” Tony wondered if it was possible to hear a smile.

“Yeah?” Tony breathed out, trying to focus on the other man’s voice. 

“Yeah.” There was a beat of silence in which they just listened to each other breathe.

“So, what did you do today?” Tony asked, trying to wipe the impending dopey smile from his face.

“I took the day off today, so I decided to sleep in a little.”

“I bet your definition of sleeping in is different than mine,” Tony teased, relaxing into the sudden easiness.

“It was about seven.”

Tony gasped theatrically. “We need to break you out of that nonsense.”

Bucky chuckled. “Yeah, yeah. So anyway, I met up with Steve for lunch and we tried this little bistro that just opened up. Real nondescript food that makes you feel like you aren’t even stateside anymore. We should go sometime- I think you’d really like it.”

Tony hummed in affirmation as he closed his eyes.

Bucky continued. “Steve wanted to meet you, but I didn’t think it’d be right to just spring that up on ya,” Bucky said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’d love for you two to meet, but I didn’t want to bother you with-” Bucky paused before finally settling on a proper summation, “That whole thing.”

“Thanks for that,” Tony says and leaves it intentionally neutral, ambiguous.

“Of course,” Bucky breathes out softly. “After lunch, I went to see my therapist. I’ve been, uh, seeing her for a while.”

Tony nodded again even though he knew Bucky couldn’t see him. He waited patiently for the other man to continue as he rubbed easy patterns into the sheets under him.

“Does that bother you?” Bucky’s voice was careful now, too careful for Tony’s liking.

“Absolutely not,” Tony rushed out. “That is entirely your business. I’m honored you told me at all.”

“It’s not really a big deal to me, but I know it can weird some people out.” Bucky’s voice was easy and light, but Tony felt a heaviness there nonetheless.

“Does it help you, though?” Tony inquired.

“You know, I think it does. It’s the kind of thing that sneaks up on you. For the longest time, I wondered if I was just wasting my time or kidding myself by even showing up, but I can’t say I don’t feel better now, you know?”

“That’s wonderful,” Tony said, letting all of his genuineness bleed into his tone. “I’m glad it’s working for you.”

Bucky hummed pleasantly. “Do you feel any better?” Bucky’s voice was casual as Tony felt himself reeling.

He swallowed before answering. “I’m good. Awesome. Fabulous, even. What’s Steve like?”

Bucky merely accepted the abrupt attempt at a diversion. He was quickly becoming one of Tony’s favorite people and wasn’t that just utterly ridiculous on all counts? “Well, he’s my best friend, you know?” 

“Uh huh. I do in fact have one of those, but I’m willing to bet my Rhodey’s better,” Tony replied flippantly.

“Is that so?” Bucky harrumphed. “Mine was a professional badass. Still is.”

“Psh. Rho-rho is a high-ranking military officer who also happens to be an engineering mastermind,” Tony bragged.

“How high-ranking?” Bucky asked.

“Made lieutenant colonel at just 30 years old.”

Bucky whistled lowly. “Well, Stevie only made it to captain, but he’s since turned to a life of artistic hipsterdom.”

“He sounds like a class act,” Tony said with a snort.

“He really is, but he definitely has his moments. He’s studying graphic design right now.”

“Oh yeah? Where?”

“He goes to Parsons.” Tony detected some smugness in that statement, but found himself begrudgingly impressed anyway.

“Holy shit,” Tony said.

“Yep.” Bucky smacked his lips on the ‘p’ and Tony rolled his eyes fondly.

“We might just have to have a bestie showdown now. What do you say?” Tony tried to make his voice sound dangerously enticing, but ended up eliciting adorable giggles from the other man instead.

“I say you’re insane,” Bucky answered.

“You would say that,” Tony said with a loud tsk.

“You’re just lucky you’re cute,” Bucky replied flippantly.

“Oh, I know,” Tony deadpanned, startling an abrupt chuckle out of Bucky.

Tony sighed softly. “I should probably let you go so you can get back to sleep.”

“Nah, I’m fine,” Bucky said, a muffled yawn contradicting him. 

Tony felt another twinge of guilt. He didn’t actually need the company, after all. He’d handled worse on his own time and time again and was confident in his ability to continue doing so. 

He hadn’t been thinking, but next time, he’d be sure to have his wits about him.

“Then what was that?” Tony teased.

“Okay, so am I a little tired? Sure, but I don’t sleep that well anyway.”

“I know what that’s like.” The words were out of Tony’s mouth before he could think better of them. He couldn’t hear whatever Bucky was saying over his own shame and immense discomfort. The guy had just disclosed that he’s in therapy, for fuck’s sake! “I’m so sorry, James. The last thing I should be doing is comparing my shit to an actual veteran’s. I really-”

“Tony!” Bucky ground out, giving the other man pause. “If you could slow down whatever nonsense is steamrolling that big brain of yours, you’d have heard me saying that no one’s experiences can discredit your own.” Bucky barely seemed to breathe as he rushed to get that all out.

“Huh?” Tony prompted, finding himself once again at a loss with this guy.

Bucky gave an irritated groan, seemingly more fully awake now. “Have I seen some shit? Yes. Absolutely. But a goddamn uniform doesn’t make my shit any worse than yours.”

“You-” Tony cut himself off, thoughts racing as he tried to pinpoint just where this conversation got so far outside of his control.

“I didn’t read up on ya when you told me who you were,” Bucky said, as if reading Tony’s thoughts. “From what I’ve gathered, you get little privacy as it is. I know you had some kind of run-in with terrorists a while back ‘cause I was serving then, but that’s it. If there’s something you want me to know at some point, I want it to come from you or not all. You don’t owe me anything Tony. I know that.”

“I think that’s the most you’ve ever said at one time,” Tony whispered with a small chuckle. “Thank you, James.” His voice was sober and subdued.

“Yeah, well I tend to have more to say when someone’s be an idiot. A really cute, endearing idiot, but still.”

“You’re an asshole,” Tony retorted plainly. “Also adorable, granted, but an actual, bonafide asshole.”

“I honestly thought you had adorable asshole covered, too.” Bucky snickered and Tony could feel the tension palpably lessening by the second.

Tony scoffed. “Adorable ass, maybe,” Bucky let out a snort. “But I think the point is, we’re both wildly attractive- which is a definite plus. We just also happen to not be restricted by the boring placidity and fake geniality that plagues the masses.” Tony’s tone was very matter-of-fact.  


“Are all geniuses this full of shit?” Bucky managed through his poorly concealed laughter.

“Debatable. My narcissism grew astronomically during grad school and let me tell you, not all of my classmates were geniuses.”

“Who are you and how in the world have you managed to keep your arrogance hidden for so long?” Bucky asked in fake awe.

“Aw, Jamesy. You must’ve been blinded by my stunning beauty and charm.” 

“Must’ve been,” Bucky agreed easily and Tony thought he could almost hear the other man’s begrudging smile. “I don’t think either of us are going to sleep long enough to not be exhausted by the time we get up.”

“Oh, definitely,” Tony agreed.

“We could watch the same movie and talk the whole way through. Should pass the time just fine.”

“Finally! Another movie-talker. We could join forces and effectively drive Pepper into a rage frenzy.”

“I don’t know that I want to get on her bad side,” Bucky hedged.

“Oh, you definitely don’t, but it would be for my amusement and endless joy.”

“I don’t know about that trade-off, but what do you say to the movie?” Bucky pressed.

“I say, you pick first and get ready for some hella deep analysis- okay, critiquing- on my end.” Tony clapped his hands together and set to rearranging his pillows yet again.

“You’ve got yourself a deal, smartass.”

Tony found himself wondering if this was, in fact, not such a mistake after all. Impromptu movie dates via phone weren’t that bad. 

He could even remain completely naked without being accused of being too forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings(s): There are allusions to traumatic military experiences, therapy, terrorists, and Tony's kidnapping in Afghanistan. These mentions are all brief and non-graphic, but if their inclusion in this chapter could be a problem for you, I'd advise you to steer clear of it. This chapter does contain some plot, but you can feel free to message me so you don't miss anything! Again, I don't think this will be an issue, but I want to be extra sure. I know how sensitive these kinds of things can be and I want everyone to be safe.
> 
> * * *
> 
> I don't tend to leave too much in the way of notes because we're here for the story, dammit! But, here goes. First of all, this took far longer for me to get back to than I had originally anticipated. Life is life and I have been dealing. In any case, I did not forget about this story and have interesting things planned for it, hopefully as evidenced by this very chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Bucky felt something hit the back of his head and let out a low growl in return.

This did nothing to deter the delighted snickers coming from somewhere behind him. Bucky gave a long-suffering sigh before whirling around to face the culprit.

“Why are you like this?” Bucky’s shoulders slouched as he came face to face with the human embodiment of obnoxiousness. 

“Like what?” Steve asked, brow lifted in the perfect picture of innocence and home-grown authenticity.

Bucky didn’t even bother deigning that with a response. Instead, he levelled the other man with a steady, piercing gaze, careful to limit his blinking.

Steve, the stubborn ass, seemed to relish in the unspoken challenge.

Internally, Bucky lamented his plight. 

Here he was, being a great best friend. He’d brought Stevie lunch, figuring the idiot had neglected to bring his own. Surprise: he was right. He even braved the obnoxious art fumes that covered this place like a nasty rash, knowing that Steve liked it when Bucky could’ve just as easily led him away from this hipster hellhole.

But no, he’d decided to spend his lunch in some studio littered with a mishmash consisting of those little digital drawing pads Steve was steadily falling in love with and the classic tools of the trade. This included colorful, gloopy paints, oils smeared on miscellaneous surfaces, and bits of charcoal and graphite strewn this way and that.

All this, just to be rewarded by a clump of some unidentifiable mass hitting Bucky upside the head. Stevie may have had everyone else convinced of his nobleness, but Bucky knew better.

He was ruminating on the paradoxical nature of his best friend as he continued his heated stare down.

Some time later, a puzzled, “What the fuck?” Sounded through the studio. 

They both fought the urge to break eye contact. They both succeeded, much to Bucky’s annoyance.

Bucky let a slight menace seep into his eyes, hoping to get a rise out of Steve.

Steve, for his part, stood stock still. Bucky thought he looked smug and stupid, but what did he know?

The new arrival managed to approach the two in almost complete silence.

“What’s it look like we’re doing, Romanoff?” Bucky finally huffed, eyes never straying from his best friend.

“Bucky’s in a bad mood,” Steve supplied unhelpfully.

“Am not,” Bucky retorted. He could feel Natasha appraising him. Bucky decided then and there that she was every bit as insufferable as Steve. Maybe more so.

“I thought you were still sickeningly upbeat because of the new boyfriend,” Natasha said matter-of-factly.

That was enough to rip Bucky out of the stupid game he’d trapped himself in with Steve. At least mentally. Outwardly, he didn’t move, but his eyes fell away from the other man’s face in favor of staring off in some faraway distance.

He felt like his brain was taking too long to- to do something. Like he’d missed something. As if he’d lost a connection, reception to something. To himself, maybe? This wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling for him, but it always sucked whenever it did occur. 

“I’m not in a bad mood,” Bucky grumbled again quietly, bottom lip migrating to settle firmly between his teeth where he could gnaw on it to his heart’s content.

He found himself ripping his hair tie off before using practiced fingers to rake through the admittedly long strands of his hair. He took his time in doing so before neatly piling it into a more secure knot atop his head.

Bucky vaguely wondered why he suddenly felt cold. 

He stood and crossed his arms tightly in front of him, going for nonchalance as he tried to wade through the sticky feeling in his head.

He missed the furtive glances passing between his friends. That is until, from his peripheral, he saw Steve give an overly expressive gesture.

Bucky’s head whipped up at that, quickly taking in Natasha’s vaguely strange expression and Steve’s rather blatant confusion.

“What?” He asked, fully able to detect the defensive tone in his own voice, but willing it to come off as normal anyway.

“Nothing,” Natasha answered automatically, features smoothing into something cool yet not unkind. Bucky didn’t know what to think of it so he didn’t. 

“Buck?” Steve asked. “Is Tony your boyfriend?”

“Is Sam yours?” Bucky fired back with a belated grimace. Natasha hummed thoughtfully.

Before Bucky could apologize, Steve stepped closer to him. “That’s not the same thing and you know it.”

Bucky scoffed. “Isn’t it though?”

“I’m gonna go with no seeing as Sam and are I are just friends. You know that.”

“Yeah, well, Tony and I- we haven’t- I don’t really-” Bucky inhaled, trying to center himself. “I guess I don’t know,” He said with a shrug.

“You don’t know?” Natasha asked, eyes slightly narrowing.

“How can you not know, Bucky?” Steve looked flabbergasted and Bucky could practically feel the gears turning over in that big, golden head of his.

“It’s not a big deal.” Bucky searched his friends’ faces before asking, “Is it?”

“Of course not, James. Relationships don’t exist in one single form,” Natasha said, giving Steve a firm look. “You should do whatever you’re comfortable with.”

Steve nodded his agreement. “Buck, whatever is between you and Tony is just that. It doesn’t really concern me at all.” Steve was trying for casual.

Bucky nodded as he moved to excuse himself.

He couldn’t help wondering just what was going on between him and the genius. The fact that Tony could find and be with whoever he wanted was not lost on Bucky.

It did, however, leave him wondering why the hell Tony was doing whatever-it-was-they-were-doing with him, of all people.

* * *

Steve found himself being levelled for what had to be the tenth time with an accusatorily scathing look from Natasha.

“Steven,” She ground out, eyebrows raised almost imperceptibly.

“What?” 

“You know what.”

Steve squinted. “Hm? I don’t think I do.”

Natasha’s eyes narrowed further. Steve suppressed a shudder.

Steve finally sighed and made a dismissive gesture to match. “Come on, it needed to be done.”

The redhead tilted her head some.

Steve took the hint and continued. “I don’t know about this Tony guy, but if he’s anything like Bucky, they’d just keep dancing around each other forever. I just want Bucky to know what he wants again. And go for it.”

“Are you sure he’s ready for that?”

“I think so, but only Bucky would really have the answer to that. Call me selfish, but I need to see him happy again.”

Natasha seemed to appraise him before deciding to speak again. “So do I,” She said succinctly, with a nod. “He deserves it,” She added in a hushed tone.

Steve gave her a soft smile at that.

If they spent the rest of their free time finger-painting to their hearts’ content, well Steve wasn’t obligated to own up to anything, thank you very much. 

Natasha, for her part, didn’t seem to hold any such qualms with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw, Bucky, no.
> 
> Let me know what you think! Do you have any questions/things you'd like to see? I happen to like answering such questions through the story itself. *hint hint*


	4. Chapter 4

Tony felt as if everything was moving too slowly- himself included.

It wasn’t as if he had failed to get anything done that day. In fact, he had gone above and beyond as he prepped for meetings, touched base with R&D, and actually managed to make himself available in his office should anyone have need of him throughout the day.

Granted, he had JARVIS send some of his things up from the workshop so he could make better use of his time. 

The chip currently in hand was probably perfect by most standards. It could easily be released within the week to widespread acclaim from technicians, engineers, and manufacturers alike, but Tony knew better.

It was too big. 

Sure, Tony could simply release it as is, only to some back a year or two later with a new and improved smaller, thinner, and even more unobtrusive version, but why put off the inevitable? Aside from money, of course.

In truth, Tony wasn’t all that concerned about later editions of the chip. Surely larger issues than size could be addressed over the coming years. That was what drew Tony to tech- the fact that consumer needs were ever-changing and adapting with each iteration of devices.

In any case, at this particular moment in time, Tony was thoroughly stumped as to how to make his invention even smaller than it already was. He’d figure it out, but for now, his overworked brain just not getting him there.

It was in the midst of this calculated chaos that the door to Tony’s office burst open to reveal a decidedly disheveled Bucky Barnes.

Tony’s mouth opened, but he found himself at a surprising lack of words. He tried to school his features into something unassuming. He wasn’t sure of his success.

Bucky’s face contorted into something akin to a smile. “Tony, hey,” He panted out, fingers twitching towards his hair.

“Hi,” Tony hazarded, rounding his desk to stand in front of the noticeably shaken man before him.

When Tony’s hand approached Bucky’s arm, Bucky sidestepped a bit, looking anywhere but at Tony’s face.

Tony nodded to himself and retreated some, finding his way back towards his desk and leaning against it.. “So, what brings you here, James?” He asked breezily, settling into a closed-lipped smile.

Bucky lurched forward only to wrap his arms around his own torso.

“Are you okay?” Tony finally asked, not liking the weirdness that had settled into the room for seemingly a long, unwelcome stay. At Tony’s expense. Typical.

Bucky’s head shot towards him at that as he nodded vigorously. “Me? Yeah, I’m good.” 

At Tony’s disbelieving look, Bucky seemed to deflate some before saying, “Okay, so I was wondering if we could talk some? Only now I’m realizing that you’re obviously busy because, hello, you’re at work. And your name’s on the building so it’s probably a lot of work.”

“James-” Tony started before getting interrupted. 

“I’m uh, I’m just gonna go and maybe we can talk later? You could text me when you’re free, if you want? Whatever works for you.” And with that, Bucky rushed to the door, shoulders hunched in tension and something else Tony couldn’t put his finger on.

Tony sprinted towards the other man, stopping just short of touching him. “James, no. I’m actually very not busy. Get back in here,” Tony tried for light and airy again, hoping it would calm the other man down.

At the very least, Bucky did turn back around, giving Tony a grateful half-smile before trudging over to the sofa and sitting heavily, eyes focused somewhere near his shoes.

Tony took the time to personally close the door so he could let his face do whatever strange contortions he had bottled up from this whole run-in. It was hard as hell for him to reel his expressions in sometimes so he figured he’d try to get it all out of his system while he wasn’t facing Bucky yet.

Tony carefully sat on the sofa as well, making sure to leave some space between Bucky and himself.

He turned to face the other man head-on, smile at the ready. “So, what’s up, Buckaroo?”

Bucky’s head canted to the side as he seemed to take Tony in. “Are we exclusive?”

Tony physically reared back, mind already moving at unprecedented speeds as he tried to analyze all of his encounters with Bucky. What they had said and done. How they had looked when it happened. All of it.

Bucky was… something good. At least, that was all Tony’s brain was willing to supply because it had apparently resolved itself to a life of mush rather than helping him the fuck out.

But, yeah. Tony hadn’t been looking to meet anyone. In fact, he’d found himself happily owning up to the fact that this might be it for him. That maybe he wouldn’t have a partner the way other people did.

He never was very much like other people and it had made sense to prepare for that outcome. And he had. Tony had actually found comfort in the possibility of having no major attachments aside from those he already had. 

He could do whatever the fuck he wanted whenever the fuck he wanted and no one would be there to try to tell him otherwise. Okay, so Rhodey and Pepper would be there. Along with JARVIS and DUM-E. But it was a little late for any of them to just up and leave him. They’d had plenty of opportunities and reasons to boot, yet there they were.

Anyway, not having to answer to anyone was one Tony’s favorite things. He also liked keeping his weird schedules and eating according to his own hunger rather than what was normal or expected. If he wanted to go stay on a remote cliff somewhere for a weekend, he was free to do so.

Bucky Barnes hadn’t infringed upon any of that. That had been refreshingly pretty low-stakes. He didn’t seem interested in knowing where the hell Tony was all the time and Tony had appreciated that.

Now, however, he was having second thoughts. 

“So,” Tony started with a slight grimace, “I think I may have made some assumptions here that I really shouldn’t have.”

Bucky’s head snapped up at that, alarm plainly written across his face.

Tony continued with, “Hey, no worries. That’s all on me.”

Bucky shook his head, worry lining his brow. “No, it’s not- there’s two of us here. No one’s to blame.” Tony thought he detected a bit of dejection in Bucky’s tone, but shook off that thought. 

“I really should’ve figured. I mean, I know how dating goes. You don’t just start out dating one person right away though, right?” Tony forced himself to laugh.

Bucky brightened some at that. “I mean, yeah. ‘Course not.” He ended it somewhat quieter than before, eyes drawn to his own lap.

“Not that it needs to be said,” Tony continued, cringing inwardly, “But, obviously, you can date whoever you want, right?”

Bucky’s eyes narrowed when he looked at Tony again. “Obviously,” He seemed to bite out.

Tony’s eyes widened. “It’s been a while for me so, I guess I just kinda assumed we were just seeing each other. I really should’ve asked first.”

Bucky’s head snapped back up, confusion lining his features. “Wait, what?”

Tony had to keep himself from rolling his eyes. He was really going to make him explain? “I really enjoy spending time with you, alright? I don’t have a ton of free time so, I don’t know that I could juggle multiple dates as it is.”

Tony missed the way Bucky seemed to visibly deflate some.

Tony continued. “In the interest of full-disclosure here, I really didn’t want to anyway. You’re enough. But if I’m not, I totally get that.”

“Not enough? Are you kidding me here?” Bucky asked incredulously.

Tony narrowed his eyes, looking Bucky up and down. “No?”.

“I came over here because I realized we never outright said what we were. I felt like we had something, like maybe we were together, but I realized maybe you didn’t think so.”

“Is that what this is about? Fuck. I thought this was your way of telling me we aren’t exclusive.” Tony smirked before saying, “Which would suck because you’re totally my boyfriend.”

Bucky’s eyes widened, head snapping impossibly fast to look at the man beside him. “I- I am?”

“Well, yeah,” Tony rushed out. “Or at least, in my head, apparently.” He made some obscure gesture at his own head.

Bucky shook his head. “Not just in your head.”

“Just to make sure,” Tony said, scooting closer to Bucky and taking his hands in his. “Will you be my boyfriend?”

Bucky seemed to take a moment to consider it.

Even though he knew better, Tony could feel the beginnings of a freak out as the seconds ticked by with nary a response from Bucky. 

He was trying his best to stop squirming when Bucky placed his metal hand on his shoulder, stilling him.

Bucky gave a nonchalant shrug, lips pursed for a moment. “I guess that can be arranged.”

“Is that a yes?”

“It’s a yes, genius,” Bucky replied fondly before capturing Tony’s lips with his own.

Tony pulled the other man to himself, gently taking his face in his hands. Tony’s fingers found themselves entangled in Bucky’s hair, eliciting a sharp inhale from the veteran.

Tony’s eyes flew open at that, taking note of the reddening of his boyfriend’s cheeks. 

Bucky lowered his head to Tony’s neck, breath coming out in warm puffs. Tony took in the other man, all closed eyes and soft exertion before giving an experimental tug to the brunet’s locks.

Bucky keened as Tony tugged at his hip, hoisting him over Tony’s lap. Tony licked at the corner of Bucky’s mouth, teasingly nipping his lip as one hand moved to massage Bucky’s head and the other rubbed along his back.

Bucky was soft and pliant as Tony continued their kiss. So pliant in fact, that a deep yawn interrupted them, causing Tony to giggle.

Bucky blushed again, moving to leave Tony’s lap. “Sorry,” He mumbled.

Tony whined a bit, gently holding him in place. “Don’t be. You’re tired, so what?”

Bucky pursed his lips. “So, I should probably get moving before I fall asleep on you at work.”

“Or you can just nap here for a while?” Tony suggested, eyebrows raised.

Bucky shook his head, only to emit another yawn. “I think all of our dumbness wore me out,” He confided quietly before burying his face in the other man’s shoulder.

Tony chuckled. “I think that just further confirms that you should stay. Who knows how much idiocy is left unspent between us? Better to be indoors, I say.”

Bucky gave a soft smile and nodded easily, dropping his forehead yet again to Tony’s shoulder before rolling his head around in an attempt to look at Tony through heavy lids. “Ya sure?”

“Absolutely,” Tony whispered, admiring how soft Bucky suddenly seemed to be. “Except, your neck is gonna hurt like a bitch if you fall asleep like this.”

Bucky grumbled adorably before staggering into a mockery of standing, Tony’s hand steadying him at his elbow. Tony moved further along the sofa, back against the armrest as Bucky clumsily clambered to collapse between his legs.

With Bucky reclined comfortably against Tony’s chest, his breathing started to even out as Tony moved to encircle him in his arms.

“I have, like, the hottest boyfriend,” Tony said cheekily, bending to drop a kiss to Bucky’s head.

“I know,” Bucky responded automatically before finally succumbing to sleep, startling a surprised huff of delight from Tony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! What/who do you want to see? I have some time off right now and have two chapters basically planned out with a third forming in my head. 
> 
> Your questions and requests help! This is doubly so right now because I have an angsty, post-cw, slow-burn winteriron fic currently in the works and it's slowly taking over my ideas for these two.


	5. Chapter 5

Sam had been in the middle of making an absurd number of cake mix cookies when Bucky had barged into his home. Bucky figured that anyone trying to keep him out would’ve locked the door to begin with.

Sam disagreed.

“Not that I’m not interested in your newly found interest in getting some, but why aren’t you talking to Steve about this?”

“Because Steve’s a stubborn asshole who thinks he knows better than anyone else.”

At that, Sam seemed to get very much offended on Steve’s behalf. Bucky decided to catalogue that for later.

Sam huffed. “I thought Steve was all for this. He seemed really excited for you,” Sam said as he continued whipping whatever batter he was now working on.

“He is. He loves that I’ve found someone, but Steve is still Steve and if I keep talking to him about Tony, he’ll never stop pressing!”

“Pressing what?”

Bucky conveniently decided to stick a spoon coated in thick, chocolatey batter into his mouth at that precise second, giving Sam a helpless stare.

Sam snatched the bowl away from the other man, a look of outrage chiseled into his handsome features.

“I’m waiting,” Sam intoned, watching as Bucky had no choice but to finally swallow his stolen treat.

“Stevie wants to meet ‘im,” Bucky mumbled, avoiding Sam’s gaze.

“Who? Tony? ‘Course he does- he wants to make sure his best friend is getting treated right, I’m sure.”

“See, that right there is the problem! I don’t need Steve going all weird and protective over me. I’m a big boy,” Bucky deadpanned at the end, finally lowering his head to the table.

“He knows that, but he’s probably a little worried all the same. Tony Stark is a busy guy, from what I’ve heard.”

Bucky nodded a little. “Tony has a lot going on, but he has plenty of down time. You guys don’t have any reason to worry,” Bucky emphasized.

“Who said I’m thinking about you at all?” Sam scoffed with a shake of his head.

“Sure,” Bucky said with a roll of his eyes. “Anyway, while it would be nice for you guys to meet Tony, I’m not above keeping him from all of you asswads,” Bucky threatened.

“Just what do you think we’re going to do this rich boy?”

“Tony’s more than that,” Bucky insisted, narrowly resisting the urge to cross his arms.

“I’m sure he is, but I’m just trying to put things into perspective here. Besides, we’ll all be on our best behavior.”

“Will you?”

“I always am, but I can’t make any promises for anyone else,” Sam admitted as he set the timer.

Bucky could only manage a sigh. This really shouldn’t be this hard.

Sam took another long look at his intruder before sighing yet again and disappearing through a corridor.

Bucky sighed in response, shifting a little in his seat. Maybe he was making something of nothing. Maybe Steve’s overprotective side wouldn’t rear its head and he would welcome Tony in person as well as he had in his conversations with Bucky.

And yet, Bucky couldn’t shake his uneasiness at the prospect. His friends were weird and territorial. This was likely due to the less than conventional career choices they’d all made. And hadn’t made. Bucky knew for certain that he himself was fucked up to some degree, but his shit hadn’t gotten in the way of things with Tony yet.

And for that, Bucky was grateful.

But Stevie still fought like he was a little guy fighting for his life at each and every turn. And that fierceness, that never-back-down-ness usually transferred over to Bucky these days. Often, this was a calming presence, an anchor for Bucky when he was feeling a little lost or otherwise off-kilter, but it could get overwhelming.

Sometimes, Bucky was convinced that when Steve got his height and bulk, Bucky must have seemed quite small and helpless in comparison. Never mind that they were essentially the same size at this point.

And Steve, being his strangely sweet self, had taken it upon himself to take Bucky’s shit on as well. Especially when Bucky seemed to falter under the weight of it all. 

Bucky was eventually shaken out of his thoughts when a plate of cookies he hadn’t known were even done slid in front of him.

When Bucky looked at Sam once he’d seated himself across from him, the other man nodded his encouragement.

As Bucky munched silently on a strawberry lime cookie, Sam seemed to study him. Bucky couldn’t find it in himself to tell him to fuck off and mind his own business. Especially since Sam was such an adept baker.

“Steve is pretty much your brother. He’s gonna look out for you, man,” Sam started, pausing as Bucky rolled his eyes before reaching for another cookie. Sam took the opportunity to whack Bucky upside the head.

Bucky spluttered, affronted, but not enough to drop his triple chocolate chip cookie.

“You do the same for him. From what I’ve seen, Steve is happier for you than he is worried. Is the worry there? Yeah, I think that’s true for most of us about most things. It comes with the territory. You can’t keep preemptively freaking yourself the fuck out, man,” Sam’s voice was softer, an understanding lilt coloring his words.

“I just want ‘em to like each other,” Bucky confided, just as quietly.

“And what if they don’t?” Sam challenged before grabbing a cookie for himself.

“I- I don’t know,” Bucky responded, eyes widening.

“Don’t you though?” Sam asked, eyebrow raised as he stood to retrieve coffee for the both of them.

“I’d prefer they get along, but I don’t need Steve’s approval,” Bucky responded, voice firmer.

Sam hazarded a glance back at Bucky. “Okay. So what do want to avoid most here?”

“Scaring Tony off,” Bucky answered automatically before frowning. 

“And you think Steve will do that?” Sam sounded dubious as he added to one mug the proper amount of sugar, creamer, caramel, and other various things Bucky took with his coffee.

“Tony might see Steve go all mother hen on me and decide I’m not worth the trouble,” Bucky grumbled.

“Then fuck him.” Sam gave a shrug, small quirk making its way at home at the corner of his mouth.

“No, that’s-”

Sam cut in. “Seriously, if some asshole sees that you have people who actually care about your wack ass and want to see you do well, and his first response is to dump you, cut your losses, Buck. You will always deserve better than that.” Sam punctuated it by pointing his half-eaten cookie at Bucky.

Bucky found himself dumbfounded at that, thoughts swirling too fast for him to meaningfully connect with anything. “Aw, Sammy,” He eventually settled on, trying in vain to hide just how touched he was by Sam’s impassioned little speech. He vaguely wondered if he’d ever get used to whatever this was.

“Shut the hell up,” Sam demanded gruffly as the timer conveniently went off on his next batch.

Bucky’s returning grin couldn’t be stifled. “What are all these cookies for anyway?”

“Just because,” Sam returned with a shrug, eliciting a sharp scoff from the other man.

“You seeing Stevie any time soon?” Bucky asked knowingly.

“While it’s entirely none of your damn business, Steve’ll be stopping by later.”

“For a date?” Bucky asked. Waggling his brows. Usually, he’d try to be a little less obvious, but this was getting ridiculous, even by his standards. And if it provided some distraction from his own shit, who was he to refuse?

“For video games,” Sam responded in his no-nonsense voice.

“Huh. Yeah, okay,” Bucky responded cryptically.

Sam rounded on Bucky at that. “What now, asshat?”

“It’s just that, I recall you kinda sucking at video games,” Bucky goaded, steeling his face against the giggles threatening to burst forth.

“Yeah, well I recall beating you at not one, not two, but several games on several occasions,” Sam retorted, leaning forward to rest his hands on the table Bucky was still sitting at.

“Only because I let your sorry ass win,” Bucky said, going for blasé. 

Sam decided to ditch his oven mitts at that point, making sure to launch them at Bucky’s somehow unsuspecting face. “Alright, come on so I can whoop you again.”

“Like to see you try,” Bucky returned as he took a running leap towards the living room.

Sam followed, screeching indignantly when a door suddenly slammed in his face.

“You really should bring your boy Tony over some time so I can kick his ass, too, Buck,” Sam teased.

“I really doubt it would go down like that,” Bucky said as he fumbled for the best controller available.

“I really doubt your loser self is an authority on the matter at all. ‘Sides, we all know losers attract losers.”

“Well, that explains you and Stevie,” Bucky shrugged. Sam made this entirely too easy.

Bucky then got smacked upside the head for the second time, and couldn’t really fault the guy for it. “Aw, look at you protecting his honor,” Bucky teased, making sure to duck that time before sticking his tongue out like the mature adult he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had meant to have this posted earlier, but between a loss in the family and my own anxiety shit, I've been a bit uncomfortable as of late.
> 
> On a brighter note, I have possibly too many winteriron fics in the works! I'm excited for all of them, but this and one I'd mentioned previously are my current priorities.
> 
> As always, please feel free to leave comments. They're very helpful given that I am very open to ideas for this story!


	6. Chapter 6

Tony was trying his best to pay attention. Really, he was. 

And, normally, Star Trek and its infinite supply of ridiculous technobabble was soothing and dazzling. Tony was used to immersing himself in an imagined future in which young schoolchildren were somehow bright enough to grasp calculus and differentials. In which everything was fairly happy go lucky barring some malevolent alien with less than savory intentions showing up. 

In any case, a particular brunet was on his mind and Tony had a hard time making his brain shut the fuck up. James was hot and, as such, Tony was supremely grateful that his brain had the decency to conveniently conjure up his boyfriend’s likeness in perfect detail. 

However, Tony couldn’t even really focus on that like he wanted to because he was too busy trying to come up with potential dates. He used to go for extravagant nine times out of ten. He’d whisk someone into a private jet or some equally ostentatious mode of transportation and take them on romantic seaside walks accompanied by horrifically expensive wine and elegant yet vaguely messy hors d’oeuvres.

He didn’t care to do that anymore, though. Don’t get him wrong, he totally planned to go overboard for James should the man continue to show an interest in him, but he didn’t want to scare him off. And Tony had ample experience doing just that to many a love interest.

There was also the fact that Tony just didn’t feel up for it anymore. Maybe he’d simply matured or maybe he was a little deadened. He’d gone out of his way for so many people and for what? And would James even appreciate something like that? Fuck, if Tony knew.

Tony internally shook himself. He knew damn well that he could have been using this time to get ahead on his R&D developments or even paperwork, but found himself lacking the will to do either. Part of him was also aware that James was probably cool with simply grabbing sushi or seeing some kind of game.

But did Tony even know the man enough to make such an assumption? He knew James liked cars. Maybe they could just drive around the city like a couple of teenagers a la the ‘50s.

Tony could feel Pepper eyeing him from his peripheral vision. “Aren’t they just the gayest?” He cooed at the screen half-heartedly as he vaguely admired Spock’s eyeshadow juxtaposed nicely with Kirk’s partially exposed chest.

Pepper’s resigned utterance of, “Know what? Fuck it,” was enough to stop Tony in his tracks. 

“Huh?” Was Tony’s brilliant response to that and all Pepper did in return was reach up to untie her hair, fingers moving to massage her temples.

She finally took pity on Tony and his mounting concern and fixed him with a steely gaze. “Your mind is elsewhere. And by elsewhere, I mean some dark and broody vet with an ass that apparently ‘just won’t quit’,” She deadpanned, placing a hand at her hip and arching one perfect eyebrow.

Tony didn’t recall telling her that. Oh, he’d definitely commented on James’ ass and how divine it was, but he could not pinpoint a time at which he’d divulged that to Pepper.

Tony eventually answered her by flipping around and hanging from the sofa upside down. “I thought we were supposed to be having a movie night,” He grumbled, opting to ignore the question on the tip of his tongue.

Pepper gave dramatic sigh. “We were until you made it abundantly clear that whatever’s playing in your head is so much better.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tony retorted.

“Don’t you?”

With a huff, Tony righted himself before crossing his arms. “This,” he gestured to the space between them before continuing, “Seems weird. Off.”

“How so?” Pepper pressed, one elegant brow ascending.

“For starters, you don’t have ESP so I don’t even know why we’re talking right now instead of watching these beautiful space nerds.”

“Be that as it may, I know something’s up because you’ve been suspiciously silent,” Pepper accused.

“Okay, but you hate it when I talk through movies and shows. We have been over this time and time again, and what? Now you want me to stop respecting your wishes and talk over shit?” Tony scoffed.

“What I’d like is for you to realize that if something’s bothering you, you can come to me, Tony. That’s all.” Pepper’s voice was annoyingly understanding as if she were soothing an irritable child.

“Well, excuse me if I think it’s weird to discuss my new boyfriend with my ex,” Tony bit out before wincing. “I’m-”

Pepper shook her head. “Don’t. I get it, but Tony you’re my best friend. I want to know what’s going on in your life. If you’re willing to share, that is.”

“Well, what do you want to know, Pep?” Tony gave a sigh but moved to face her properly as he devoted some of his attention trying to ignore the horrible feeling of his blood resettling to the rest of his body.

Pepper fixed him with a stern look, eyes glimmering warmly and making Tony feel all too squirmy. “Are you happy?”

Tony nodded. “So far, everything’s been great. Smooth sailing.” He punctuated it with a glide of his hand, desperately hoping that she’d just drop it. Talking was cool, but it was often uncalled for, if you asked him.

“Okay,” Pepper allowed. “Then why do you look like your stomach hurts when you think about James?”

“I do not!” Tony tried in vain to keep the outraged indignation from slithering into his voice, but was immediately aware of his failure to do so.

“You did just now,” Pepper responded with a slight frown gracing her features.

“Again, you are no psychic. Besides, it wasn’t James that was making me make whatever face you saw. At least not directly,” Tony breathed out in resignation.

“Okay. So indirectly, what’s up?”

“Our relationship might be over before it even really starts,” Tony said with a groan. He knew he was being overly dramatic, but as usual, it was slightly difficult to stop once he'd gotten started.

That somehow seemed to get even more of Pepper’s attention given that she made a more obvious indignant sound herself before tugging Tony by his feet and placing them in her lap. She gave them a squeeze. “What?” 

“I have zero date ideas. It’s like I don’t know anything about James so how the hell am I supposed to know what he wants?” Tony whined.

Pepper shot him a withering stare. “Did you ask him?”

“What? Out? Yes, that has been covered already!”

Pepper shoved at his legs. “I meant did you ask him what he likes?”

“Not in so many words!”

“Well, try that,” Pepper offered as if it were ever that simple.

“But spontaneity is hot. People like that.”

“Why don’t you just try to get to know him first?”

“I don’t see how that’s gonna happen if I can’t even take him somewhere he’ll enjoy.” Why his friend was failing to understand the horrifically cyclic nature of his conundrum was beyond Tony.

“Stop inventing problems for yourself. I doubt he honestly expects you to know everything little things he likes and dislikes at this point,” Pepper said.

“I guess.” Tony felt his face scrunch as he wondered whether he was making shit up. Maybe his mind was just scrambling for something to latch onto and panic about. It wouldn’t have been the first time that had happened.

“Do you honestly think he knows everything about you?" Tony almost shivered at her tone.

“Well no, but—“

“No buts. Go to a damn musical or go walking or literally do anything. Dates are for learning about each other. How have you forgotten this already?

“I don’t know Pepper; I guess I had other shit on my mind when I was in that damn cave. And after. Imagine that.” Tony winced to himself. He wasn't trying to earn Pepper's pity. He just wanted some insight on how to woo really hot guys in a more personal manner than he was used to. He used to practically have formulas for these kinds of things and, without his old patterns to rely on, he was a little lost.

“I understand, but you should know that with us, you were great with this kind of stuff.”

Tony shot her a disbelieving look. “Sure,” he gave with a nod.

“Seriously. Did we have our issues? Absolutely, but you were great at stuff like that. I was the one lacking in the romance department.”

“That’s not true,” Tony argued.

Pepper smirked. “Remember when I took you to what must have been the longest circus performance known to man to celebrate the closing of that deal? When all you really wanted was a warm, soothing bath and some rest?”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Tony tried, even though he couldn’t even call his tone all that convincing.

“You fell asleep and woke up to cotton candy in your hair. God, you were starving at one point so I treated you to fucking corndogs, Tony. And you were such a good sport about it all.”

“Okay, I’ll admit that that was awful. I hate clowns so much.”

“I’m pretty sure you told me that and I just completely disregarded it. As long as you listen to James, you should be fine.”

“Or, at the very least, if I avoid the circus we should be fine,” Tony chuckled as Pepper reached over to gently shove him. "Unless James actually likes clown for some ungodly reason?"

“Don’t do anything you don’t like either Tony. Remember that. Be good to both of you.”

“When did you become such an adult?” Tony complained to cover up his impending grin. 

“Probably when you abandoned your company and left me to run everything.”

“Psh, that’s hardly what happened. Plus, you love that job.”

“I really do,” Pepper acquiesced. “Mostly because I love being your boss.”

“Okay but we both know you aren’t actually my boss. I appointed you, after all.”

“Be that as it may, Wikipedia cites me as the one in charge and I have executive power over, oh, just about everything.”

“Last I checked, we both act as CEO. Ask Wikipedia. Or the company website. Or JARVIS. As head of R&D all I have to do is halt design and production. Then, we’ll see who’s really in charge.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Wouldn’t I though?”

“Not if you know what’s good for you, you won’t.”

“I thought we’d just thoroughly pointed out that I don’t know anything about that.”

“You can’t play dumb with me, Stark,” Pepper threatened, eliciting a chuckle from the man. She managed to restart the show, JARVIS having helpfully lowered the volume given that he knew Tony's tendencies. And liked judging him for them.

Some moments later, when Pepper had adjusted the volume to her liking, Tony jabbed her with his foot, earning a frown for his trouble. It wasn’t like he kicked her or anything. 

“Thanks, Pep. Really.” Tony’s voice was subdued as he conjured up his most earnest smile he could manage.

Pepper’s eyes shone in appreciation for a beat before she shoved Tony’s legs off of her. “You’re welcome, Tony but you will shut up or I will officially excuse myself from your nerd marathon,” She growled in what Tony automatically recognized as fake vehemence. 

Tony snickered, feeling as if oxygen was coming to him just a tick easier now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one of Tony's people! And Star Trek.
> 
> If any of you do have date ideas, feel free to share! Or any ideas, really! Comments are always great!


	7. Chapter 7

Bucky startled when the bell over the garage door rang out, much to his own annoyance. Regardless of Bucky’s familiarity with dealing with people, he couldn’t claim to enjoy it. Sure, most of his regulars were good people, but some of the brand-new walk-ins came on a little too strong with their profound sense of importance.

Bucky understood how crucial transportation was, but that didn’t excuse looking down on the guy you wanted to fix your car. 

With a sigh, Bucky found a rag only slightly less soiled than the others typically strewn about and busied himself with wiping his hands as he lumbered way towards the front door.

When he saw Tony standing before him, easy grin directed at him, he scraped his hands against his jeans for good measure. It wouldn’t do to be any grimier than strictly necessary when he was trying to come across as a well-adjusted person who even slightly has their shit together.

“Hey, Tony,” Bucky greeted before gesturing around himself vaguely, “Sorry about the mess”. 

Tony scoffed. “You should see my home workshop.”

Before he could think better of it, Bucky blurted out, “I’d really like that,” before wincing.

Tony, bless him, seemed to take it in stride, head tilting in what Bucky could only assume was consideration. “I think I’d like that too. My other ‘shop is pretty sterile in comparison,” he said with a shrug, “since you never know who’s wandering about and I can’t really afford to get some of it in the wrong hands.”

“That’s just me runnin’ my mouth.” Bucky tried to search the other man’s face for any sign of discomfort or alarm. He simply wasn’t good with people these days.

“Well, I kinda like the whole open-bookness of it all. Makes for less guesswork,” Tony offered with a grin.

“I uh, didn’t always disclose much. A while back, I was trying to talk more so I didn’t freak my friends out as much and ended up having little to no filter unless I really concentrated on it.”

“Well, don’t bother,” Tony replied flippantly. Something in Bucky’s face must’ve alerted Tony to his minor internal freak out because he hastily moved towards him, hand settling on Bucky’s arm. His metal arm, at that. “I can be a bit brash and a whole lot in your face, so we make quite the pair.”

“You know, I think part of me noticed that about ya,” Bucky teased as he relaxed in his boyfriend’s touch.

“And the other part?” Tony asked cheekily.

“Really wants to do this,” He said before bending slightly to kiss Tony, who let out a small gasp.

“Your lack of filter is definitely working for me,” Tony responded before heartily returning the kiss with even more vigor. Bucky was almost embarrassed by the needy moan that somehow managed to slip out of him, but found he really didn’t care when all it did was seem to make Tony even more demanding and greedy.

What could he say? He was a simple guy and liked feeling wanted sometimes.

When they had to break apart to catch their breath, Bucky pointed out, “As nice as this is, I have to wonder if you really came all this way just for this.”

“I’d be crazy not to, Buckaroo.” Tony smooshed their noses together and Bucky almost frowned at the picture they must have made. He’d seen far too many obnoxious couples in this exact state. Granted, it was nice to be on the receiving end given that his face was currently joined to that of a very attractive fella, but he couldn’t shake the fact that such couples tended to make people want to gouge their own eyes out. Namely, they made Bucky want to do so.

“Can’t argue there.” Bucky ultimately found that he liked getting to experience Tony’s overly expressive eyes so closely and couldn’t contain a small giggle as he immersed himself in them.

“If you must know, I thought I’d stop in, see you, see the cars,” Tony trailed off cheekily.

With an over exaggerated sigh, Bucky stepped back after clasping both of Tony’s hands in his own. “There we go. I knew there was a catch,” he said, pausing, “there always is.”

“What can I say, I’m a car guy,” Tony managed around his lopsided smirk. 

“You like drivin’ ‘em or workin’ on ‘em more?” Bucky couldn’t help asking.

“If I have to choose, building them,” Tony snarked back haughtily.

Bucky’s brows lifted at that. “Is that so?”

“Wouldn’t have said it if it wasn’t.” Tony gave a shrug and sauntered past Bucky as if he owned the place.

Bucky crossed his arms and rocked back on his heels, watching Tony take his surroundings in more fully. Despite the obviously expensive as hell suit Tony was rocking, he looked right at home amidst the strewn bits of machinery. 

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Bucky followed. “I gotta say, that’s pretty damn hot,” he admitted.

Tony spared a glance back at him. “I know.” His voice was flippant and self-assured and Bucky was entirely too enthralled by it.

At a loss for words, Bucky peered over Tony’s shoulder at what he’d consider to be his biggest work-related headache of the moment.

“Let me guess? Needs a new engine,” Tony deadpanned.

“How’d you know?” Bucky felt the need to ask, even though he was quickly coming to realize that if some kind of tech was failing, Tony likely knew what was up or could quickly figure it out if he were so inclined. 

Tony bent under the hood, finding the oil pin and waving it at Bucky. “Full of sludge,” He responded.

“Alright, but you couldn’t have known that just from looking. So, what tipped you off?” He challenged.

“A failed engine has a distinctive smell. Was it just on?”

“Yeah until I admitted defeat. Part of me wants to call ‘em and refer ‘em to a dealership,” Bucky whined.

“That bad?” Tony asked as he failed to keep his amusement in check.

“Even worse, actually,” Bucky grumbled, fighting a grin of his own because Tony’s was so damn contagious—even when he was reminding Bucky of shit he really didn’t want to deal with and how unfair was that?

“Well, what do you say we table this,” Tony responds, gesturing in vague contempt for the sad vehicle before them, “And see about getting some lunch?”

Bucky tried not to seem too excited at the prospect. He failed. “Yeah, definitely! What were you thinking?”

“I like sushi, but I’m also not picky.”

“You’re dressed like that and you aren’t picky?” Bucky gestured at Tony and immediately felt something in his gut sink at the brief flash of something decidedly not as easy-going flitting across his boyfriend’s face. 

Bucky held a hand out, going for placating, apologetic, anything to make Tony’s smile a little less brittle. “I didn’t mean anything by it, promise.” Bucky wasn’t sure if he’d ever stop wincing at his inability to shut up.

Tony shrugged, seemingly at ease but Bucky wasn’t buying it. Not when he just looked so dejected mere seconds ago. “No, no I get it. This,” Tony tugged at lapel, “is obviously overpriced and overhyped. It’s expected of me, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like it too.”

Bucky hurriedly reached for Tony’s hand. “I get that. I definitely get that. I was just trying to make a dumb joke, honest.”

“I know. I just can’t help but think maybe I should make more of an effort to let you know what you’re getting yourself into,” Tony insisted.

“Okay, but what does that mean?” Because if Bucky was embarrassingly honest, he wanted to get himself into whatever Tony was about. And he was prepared to do so because fuck if it hadn’t been forever since he felt like pursuing anything with anyone. Steve had been genuinely worried and while Bucky didn’t really mind, hanging out with Tony was exhilarating in a way he’d forgotten human interaction could be.

“You know, the whole dating a billionaire spiel. There’s a lot of bullshit attached that I can’t blame you for not wanting to deal with. Hell, I wouldn’t deal with some of it if I had a choice,” Tony said with an eyeroll. Bucky catalogued that, sensing a story there.

“Dating’s dating, ain’t it? Money doesn’t matter. We’ll learn each other as we go, right?” Bucky had the acute sensation that this was all getting far heavier than he had anticipated. Something in the back of his head felt the need to remind Bucky that Tony could still end up not all that interested in learning the ways of a disturbed vet. And who could blame him?

“Okay, but I don’t want you to feel like I have some kind of authority in choosing anything. Trust me when I say the more expensive way is not always the best. Even knowing that, though, I sometimes fall back on throwing cash at things. It’s what I know. It’s what I do. Feel free to stop me though.” Tony squeezed Bucky’s hand, thumb scraping across the back of his hand.

“Trust me, I’m good at saying no—just ask anyone,” Bucky scoffed, thinking of the numerous times he’d refused his friends. Hey, he liked his alone time.

“I will hold you to that. You should also know that I’m probably going to want to spoil you just a bit. If you want that, that is.” Tony’s face was frozen in a wince as if he expected Bucky to throw a fit over a beautiful rich guy wanting to buy him things. Bucky had no intention of taking advantage, but this guy had to be kidding him. 

“I don’t care about your money, but if that’s what you want,” Bucky gave with a shrug, a smirk curling around the corner of his lips. His whole suave, nonchalant act would have worked a hell of a lot better if his stubborn stomach hadn’t chosen that particular moment to make itself known. 

Bucky felt heat rise in his face as Tony lessened the space between them. 

“You never bestowed upon me your opinions on sushi,” Tony gently reminded him.

“I’ve never had sushi before, but it looks tiny.” Bucky could feel his face scrunching up in distaste. It was the same issue he had with small plates. Tapas were a cute idea, but they were a lot less so when all Bucky wanted was a complete meal. Having over a dozen mini dishes spread out around him only made him feel like a pig when everyone else seemed content with three. 

“What if we get a lot of sushi?” Tony suggested. Bucky nodded easily, already heading back to flick the lights off, accidentally tugging Tony along with him. Tony gave an easy laugh and gripped Bucky’s hand when he belatedly tried to separate them.

Bucky snorted, before he recalled something. “Is it really just raw fish?”

Tony hummed. “It can be, if that’s what you like. There are plenty that aren’t raw though,” Tony assured him. 

Bucky found his keys and tried to place them in his left pocket, body twisting this way and that as he held steadfast to Tony’s hand. Tony snatched them away before sliding them into the correct pocket. Bucky could feel himself blushing and was thankful for the dimmed lights.

“Okay, but what if I am feeling adventurous, huh?” Bucky smirked, bumping his hip against Tony’s.

Tony pretended to consider before giving Bucky a mischievous look. “Well, let’s see. There’s tuna, salmon, and yellowtail. There was unagi which is eel except they’re kind of super endangered right now. Like, it’s advised everyone just stop eating them altogether. Really delicious, though,” Tony said with a shrug. “There’s always fish eggs,” he added, eliciting a dramatic look of horror from Bucky.

“The fuck? You eat unborn baby fish?” Bucky frowned at that, shuddering a bit.

“Hello, have you ever heard of caviar? Same thing.”

“Hello, I’m poor. Also, unlike some people, I love animals. Always have,” Bucky teased.

“Yeah, you love them so much you got the biggest burger possible and topped it off with a mound of bacon, if memory serves,” Tony pointed out as Bucky continued to lock up. 

“Okay, but that’s different,” Bucky insisted.

“How so?” This time, Tony did actually snatch his hand back. Only to cross his arms because apparently, he was that petty. This was further evidenced by his ridiculous stomp in what Bucky assumed must be the direction of the sushi place.

“They’re called hamburgers! Pork belongs on there and it just goes, okay?” Bucky gestured wildly for emphasis, earning a chortle out of Tony. When Bucky looked around, a few passersby were giving him weird looks, but as the guy with a metal arm, he was pretty much used to it by now.

“That has to be the flimsiest excuse I’ve heard in a while, Bucko,” Tony said in a disapproving tone.

“Yeah, well I don’t think I was eating any animal eggs so, it’s different,” Bucky pressed.

“You really expect me to believe you don’t eat chicken eggs?”

Bucky spluttered, “It’s a breakfast staple!”

“Says you!” Tony huffed indignantly.

“Also, those eggs aren’t unborn because they never got fertilized. Thank you, middle school biology.”

“Well, now that I’ve gotten to see this brilliant display, let me be the first to enlighten you on the fact that the fish eggs are also unfertilized,” Tony explained.

“Thank god,” Bucky sighed, making a big show out of deflating his shoulders and posture in general.

“Did you really care?” Tony quirked an eyebrow at the thought.

“Nah, I just like riling you up. It’s cute.”

“Oh, I’m the one who got riled up, Mr. Wannabe Vegetarian?” Tony looked him up and down sassily before reattaching their hands. Again, Bucky was certain they made a cloyingly sweet picture, but was too happy to be spending time with Tony to care about it. 

He had been prepared to have cereal for lunch in the shop so, Tony’s appearance was very welcome, even if he wasn’t so good at articulating wherever he was dragging Bucky.

“Hey, I have honestly considered it!” Bucky insisted. He’d failed on multiple occasions, too, but Tony didn’t need to know that.

“But?” Tony encouraged.

“But I really like those burgers. And I may be a little addicted to bacon,” Bucky finally admitted.

“Thank you, James. Really, all I wanted was a little bit of honesty here.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Bucky grouched. “Hey, do you think they have bacon sushi?”

“Can you get any grosser?” Tony nearly shouted, mouth flung open at the very thought.

“How is that gross? You like bacon! I saw you eat it too.” Bucky tugged lightly on the hand in his for emphasis. He was always finding himself surrounded by weirdos. It was starting to make him wonder.

“But on sushi? In sushi? How could you?” Tony was clearly scandalized and Bucky was loving it.

“Uh, how could you not?”

“Fine, when we get there, ask them for your bacon sushi,” Tony dared, mouth twisted in obvious distaste.

“You think I won’t?” Bucky bit out, knowing damn well he may be setting himself up to look like an idiot here.

“I think you shouldn’t, but who am I?” Tony lamented with a theatrical air.

“You’re my awesome genius boyfriend who I should probably listen to,” Bucky said, punctuating it with a light kiss to the corner of Tony’s mouth.

“Oh?” Tony asked, probably fishing for more compliments, head tilted up, leaning into the kiss.

“But I won’t because what kind of food can’t be made better with bacon? That’s just unheard of.”

“Why do I like you if you make zero sense?”

“Because you’re lying. Bacon always makes sense,” Bucky gave his boyfriend a sober look, eyebrows raised in expectation. From there, they easily transitioned into puppy dog eyes.

“Okay, what the hell is that? I will get you your disgusting bacon sushi if you promise to never do that again, you demonic creature from the actual pits of hell,” Tony complained.

Bucky amped it up a bit, pleased that it was working at all. This was definitely being stored away for later use.

“It’s bad enough you have that whole soulful thing going for you. But a soulful puppy? I never even had a chance and you’re an awful person. I want to buy you everything, no fair,” Tony whined.

Bucky finally relented. “If it makes you feel any better, regardless of what I said earlier, you make it pretty hard to tell you no, too.”

“Well thank fuck for that,” Tony deadpanned and Bucky snorted yet again in a completely unattractive way. Somehow, Tony seemed to find it endearing of all things.

Bucky decided he should just count his blessings on that one.

* * *

By the time they made it back to the garage, Bucky had a newfound appreciation for sushi and a huge package waiting for him.

Tony merely lifted his eyebrows in interest when Bucky cast a suspicious glance his way. Bucky wasn’t convinced of his innocence in the least.

Before Bucky could fumble his way towards something to cut into the box, Tony flipped a shiny red knife out of his pocket, opening it to reveal a solid black blade. He handed it to Bucky, who immediately closed it to admire it in a safer fashion. The spring was smooth as could be when Bucky pressed on the lever and his eyes tracked the knife to its ridiculously sharp tip.

“This is nice,” Bucky blurted as he took another moment to admire the knife, feeling the weight of it settle into his hand.

“I can order one for you,” Tony offered brightly.

Bucky tsked fondly at him. “I’m sure you’ve done enough for me, Tony, but thanks.”

He turned back to the package, opening it to reveal the very engine he’d been trying to get his hands on for the last couple of days. “How in the world-”

“I have my ways,” Tony bragged.

“I can see that.” 

“So, how about we install this bad boy?” Tony suggested as his suit jacket suddenly went flying across the garage, landing on Bucky’s disheveled, but relatively clean desk. Bucky was just happy it didn’t land on the floor because it looked like a sizable chunk of Bucky’s earnings.

“I might have some spare clothes around here,” Bucky offered, wincing as Tony flung his tie off too. He decided he cared a lot less when Tony’s fingers expertly rolled his sleeves up, the veins in his forearms dancing around enough to make Bucky swallow thickly.

Bucky could’ve melted then and there when Tony raked both of his hands through his hair, trying to get the unruly curls out of his face. Bucky’s attention was torn between Tony’s attempt to tame his hair and the lean, corded muscles working through his arms.

“See something you like?” Tony gave with a wink before kneeling down to take a better look at the engine.

One thing that became very apparent about Tony was that he was not afraid to get dirty. Tony had told Bucky as much, but this was his first time seeing Tony lug around heavy equipment, crisp shirt and perfectly tailored slacks be damned. 

The installation wasn’t too bad since there were two of them working on it, but it probably would’ve gone by a lot faster if Bucky could stop himself from ogling his boyfriend for two seconds. He wondered if he’d have to ban Tony from the ‘shop at some point in order to save his business. It seemed like a distinct possibility at this point.

Bucky was just rolling himself up under the car when Tony whistled lasciviously. “You are so damn hot,” He cooed, head shaking before he bit his bottom lip.

“Me?” Bucky huffed, looking down to see that his shirt had ridden up some.

“Yeah, you, Tony replied, seeming to consider something. “How did you get into auto repair anyway?”

Bucky decided to finish up what he was doing before touching that one. He didn’t want to be rude, but he had to take that moment to steel himself some.

Tony’s status as a genius in what Bucky suspected to be a ridiculous number of areas meant that Bucky probably couldn’t prolong this too much. The man knew his cars and he’d know the approximate amount of time it’d take for Bucky to check what he was down there for. 

Taking a deep breath, Bucky rolled back out from under the car only to end up staring into Tony’s warm eyes. Something in them calmed Bucky some.

“As you know, I was in the army. I originally looked into being an army mechanic. I’ve been interested in cars for as a long as I can remember and they were paying decent money.”

Tony nodded, extending a hand to help Bucky up. “Is that how you met Steve?”

“Nah, Steve was the dumbass kid on my block who couldn’t stay outta trouble. You’d think it’d be easy for him since he was so tiny, but he never let that stop him,” Bucky said with a small chuckle.

“I feel like Rhodey has a similar story to tell,” Tony mused as Bucky led him to a bench across the room.

Bucky hummed before seeming to size Tony up. “I bet he does.” He could just imagine the trouble kid Tony could get himself into. Adult Tony was never boring, after all.

Tony waved dismissively, as if to shoo away Bucky’s musing on his own status as nothing but trouble. “Yeah, yeah. So how did this tiny guy manage to get into the military anyway?” Tony took the opportunity to scoot closer to Bucky, wrapping an arm around his torso and pulling him closer still. Bucky found himself automatically snuggling into Tony’s warmth but trying to keep his metal arm from touching his boyfriend too much.

Tony didn’t seem to mind it at all though as he locked his fingers in Bucky’s metal ones. For one panicked second, Bucky imagined losing control of himself and squeezing his fingers too tight against Tony’s. The thought of hurting him burrowed itself into Bucky’s mind, obscuring his train of thought as he tried to shake it away. He’d had such a hard time figuring out the arm’s capabilities before and he doubted he had it to a science even now.

Tony’s finger slid across the metal of Bucky’s thumb and Bucky looked up to see a certain openness to Tony as he patiently waited for Bucky to continue. The lack of fear in the genius’ face had the effect of all but making Bucky’s own dissipate. Bucky grinned at him despite himself, not wanting to let slip his near-panic.

“In high school, Stevie hit a huge growth spurt. He went from scrawny as hell to farm grown in no time. I was just glad his health improved so much.”

At Tony’s questioning look, Bucky continued. “Steve wasn’t just small, he was allergic to everything, had awful asthma, a terrible immune system, and he couldn’t see for shit.”

“Okay, but I don’t think a growth spurt can fix all of that.”

“By middle school, his asthma wasn’t an issue anymore. His immune system is pretty good now, too since he’s been able to put on more weight. He still wears contacts, which was hilarious in basic because they weren’t allowed and he had to make do with the ugliest glasses known to man. But, couple all that up with his penchant for back alley fist fights and he was a handful as a kid.”

“I can imagine. Sounds like you took good care of him though,” Tony said.

“Yeah, well, our mas were pretty busy just trying to make ends meet. We looked out for each other,” Bucky reminisced.

“That still doesn’t explain how you two ended up in the army,” Tony gently nudged, nothing but tentative curiosity in his features.

Bucky sighed, leaning his head onto Tony’s shoulder. “No, I guess it doesn’t. Steve needed money for his mom ‘cause she got real sick and we couldn’t afford treatment. By the time he came up with this brilliant idea, I had already joined up. Steve was supposed to just go to college, not follow me like a dumbass. The buddy program made it easier, I guess.”

“Part of me wanted to go to school for something technical straight out of high school, but I decided on the army because I could get trained there while making enough to support myself without relying on anyone,” Bucky said, focusing inward on the his younger, far more naïve self that thought he’d had everything figured out.

“Sounds like a solid plan,” Tony agrees after a while, fingers reaching up to card through Bucky’s hair a bit.

“Yeah, well I didn’t factor in the logistics too much. As we kept talking with recruiters, we found out there was a program where we could attend college, all expenses paid, and become officers. I studied engineering psych and Steve did English. It wasn’t easy, but we graduated on time and got to move up pretty quickly.”

“Engineering psych,” Tony mumbled, but when Bucky stopped to focus on him, he shook his head and waved for him to continue.

“Eventually, I ended up in a special ops outfit with Stevie acting as captain. I was his XO. The pay was good and the action was even better. I had a hard time imagining myself in some cubicle somewhere, so it was right up my alley. I still got to use my mechanical know-how which could be fun too. We weren’t the largest team because of the sensitive material we handled, so any practical skills present were selected strategically.

“When a vehicle had to be left somewhere, if we could, we’d try to either repair it or tow it back to the site. Usually, I had to do this alone since everyone had their own duties to attend to. Steve didn’t like that, though so once we were on the same team without so many higher ups breathing down our necks, he made sure there were two of us. A lot of the time, it was him.”

“That still doesn’t seem safe at all,” Tony protested softly and Bucky looked up to see a small frown forming at the corners of his lips. Some part of him warmed at Tony’s indignation on his behalf.

“I guess, but usually nothing happens. You head back, do what you can, make the necessary reports, and that’s it. I’d done it a million times, but there was this one time where we had to head back when it was getting dark out. Again, nothing out of ordinary, but the only light I had was a headlamp when I heard something. I thought it was my team. It wasn’t. There was a blast and I got knocked out,” Bucky said, keeping his voice even and detached.

At that, Tony inhaled sharply, fingers grasping a little more tightly at Bucky’s side. Bucky let the hand anchor him to the present as the wisps of memory he could still call forth flitted in his mind’s eye.

“That’s how I got this,” Bucky flipped their hands over, drawing attention to the metal there, “and discharged. At least Stevie had been far enough to miss the blast.” 

“I’m so sorry,” Tony started until he felt Bucky shake his head. 

“Don’t be.”

“But I don’t know what else to say,” Tony fumbled haltingly.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Bucky replied, trying to stave off the numbness that tended to come over him when he verbalized his experiences.

“I feel like I do, though,” Tony insisted quietly, stubbornly.

“You’re sweet,” Bucky murmured, enjoying the warm solidity of Tony’s form against his as he raised a hand to Tony’s hair. It was fluffier than usual today and Bucky counted it as a major success that he hadn’t sank his fingers into it far sooner.

Bucky wished his arm was more sensitive. He knew to be grateful he got any sensation through the hunk of metal at all, but didn’t doubt that he was missing some of the finer nuances of the brunet strands as he trailed after the traces of curls at his disposal.

Tony hummed, either in thought or at the sensation of Bucky’s metal fingers gently carding through his hair. “It’s not just that, though, is it? I’m sure my company’s logo was all over the weapons over there.”

“Well, yeah, but who can fault you for that? There’s good money in it and I’d imagine you’re the best,”

“Not exactly something I wanna be the best at, as it is.”

“Sorry,” 

“No, stop. This is about you, not me. We can get to my rich boy blues later.” Tony’s tone was self-deprecating as he focused on his own lap. When he lifted his gaze, his eyes gleamed with something Bucky was having trouble placing, but that only encouraged him to somehow manage to stick around long enough to interpret all of Tony’s little expressions and their various meanings. 

The genius knew how to make himself hard to read. Bucky imagined that just went along with being a celebrity billionaire genius. It made sense for Tony to have devised ways to protect himself from prying eyes since it seemed he could just about devise anything he set his mind to.

Bucky had also learned to school his features long ago. After all, his survival had depended on it at certain points in his life. I fact, it was still hard for him to remember that he could be more open, practice greater transparency even he was just among friends.

All the same, Bucky didn’t enjoy seeing that strange detachment take over Tony’s features.

But now, after having gorged themselves on too much sushi and ridiculous banter, something had softened in Tony. While Tony in his all hard edges of strength and purpose were a sight to behold, so was this more intimate, pliable version Bucky had found himself with.

Hands hardened by a lifetime of heavy lifting and inventing could just as easily hold Bucky as if he was something precious, something worth caressing and attending to.

But even as Tony made Bucky feel like he was worth something, here Tony was talking shit on himself.

“Tony,” Bucky whined. “Why are you being so hard on yourself, huh?” Bucky twisted some so he could briefly capture Tony’s lips with his own.

Tony shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. Let’s get back to you, James.”

Bucky cast a skeptical look at him. “I don’t mind focusing things on you. That’s pretty much my story anyway,” Bucky drawled, letting an easy grin slide across his face and hoping it would ease the discomfort he could just barely detect in the genius’ face.

“Is it?” Tony blurted, looking a little like he hadn’t intended the quick slip, but Bucky just chuckled.

“There’s a little bit more to it, but I just wanna be here. With you. Certainly not back there with all that shit.” Bucky also didn’t want to load all of his problems onto Tony. Tony was nice and understanding and while Bucky had endeavored not to look into Tony’s past, he knew Tony had gone through some shit of his own and didn’t particularly feel like bringing any of that up before Tony was ready.

“Of course,” Tony rushed out. “I definitely get that.” Tony unlatched his arm from around Bucky and Bucky found himself missing it even more than he had feared. That is, until Tony reached out to brush some of Bucky’s hair back.

Bucky couldn’t resist the urge to glance up at the other man through his lashes, calling on some of his younger self’s charisma in the process. “Thank you for being so understanding,” He carefully intoned.

“You are very welcome. Incidentally, you are also very pretty. What the actual hell?” Tony squinted his eyes and Bucky only allowed himself to bite his lip as he smiled, head canting to the side in feigned innocence. He liked the easy distraction Tony offered him far too much.

“I was just thinkin’ the same about you, honey.”

“See what I mean? How is that cute on you? Everyone says honey. It really shouldn’t be a big deal.”

“Well, it’s only fair. I never really liked James until I head you say it,” Bucky admitted. So much for keeping that to himself.

Tony’s brows arched in delight. “Is that so, James?” Tony all but purred, but Bucky was determined to keep his cool. “How do you feel about Giacomo?”

In answer, Bucky surged forward to kiss Tony, nipping sharply at him for making him have that response in the first place. He knew what he was doing.

“Are you Italian?” Bucky asked when he finally pulled away from Tony.

Tony, who was apparently far more collected since Bucky was the one now squirming, shrugged. “Only half, on my mother’s side. You like Italian?”

“I like you,” Bucky gave with a breathless giggle.

“I like you, too, Bucky-bear, Bucky-boo, James, Giacomo, Jamie-baby, Jimmy-gimme, Juh-” Tony trailed off when Bucky became a sudden dead weight against him, relaxing his body so completely against Tony’s that he had to support the vet as he toppled onto him. An accompanying long-winded groan emitting from Bucky seemed to help his cause as Tony finally shut up with a small oomph as he maneuvered them to not fall in a heap on the floor.

“What a drama queen,” Tony complained with a hearty eye roll that was significantly less impactful when he brushed his fingers through the unruly locks that broke free from Bucky’s hair tie.

“You’re one to talk,” Bucky deadpanned against Tony’s chest, face smooshed as he continued to let Tony support him.

Tony scoffed. “I’ll have you know, I am the furthest from a drama queen. I am even-keeled and practical, if anything.”

“Uh huh,” Bucky scoffed back.

“It’s true, but you with all your theatrics aren’t likely to pick up on how understatedly collected I am. Your loss.”

“That’s rich.”

“In case you’ve forgotten, everything about me is in fact rich, so that’s actually appropriate.”

“Who’s boyfriend are you, again?”

“Oh, he’s nothing like you. He’s this super hot vet who looks like the hottest raccoon known to man. He spends half his time pouting and the other half scowling as he stomps around with his own brand of Brooklyn purpose.” Tony babbled.

“A raccoon? Really?”

“Your eyes are all dark smoldering. Vigilant.” Tony stared dramatically into space as he expounded on raccoons of all things.

“Tony, I think you’ve got a thing for raccoons because I have honestly never heard someone describe them like that. Sorry to say, that ain’t normal.”

“Well, lucky for you if I do because you are obviously a raccoon that got magicked into being a human at some point.”

“Why do I even talk to you?” Bucky groaned in faux misery. This man was too much and Bucky had the distinct feeling that his dumb friends would agree with his boyfriend’s ridiculous assessment.

“Because I’m amazing in every way. I’m a total catch,” Tony explained flippantly.

“You actually are, you idiot,” Bucky admitted easily.

A smaller smile found its way onto Tony’s face before he made an obnoxious cooing sound. “Awww, snookums.”

Tony bear-hugged Bucky even closer to him, shaking them around erratically as he continued to be utterly obnoxious. And adorable as hell, but Bucky only felt it necessary to tell him that first part.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * * *
> 
> This is not the proper forum for this, but fuck it. Where to begin? It has taken me far too long to get back to this story. You guys already know that and I'm sorry. I sound like a fucking sob story, but my best friend was found dead a couple of weeks ago. Prior to that, she had been missing for a really long time. I have dealt with loss in the past, but this has hit me especially hard because I not only loved her, I looked up to her so much. We’re both really young, but a lot of long-term shit I want to do, she was already in the midst of doing. She was amazing. Anyway, I’ve been writing and lifting heavy and I have to believe that maybe she’d admire that about me now.
> 
> * * *
> 
> Thanks for reading and let me know what you think of the chapter. I love hearing from you!


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